Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
49 Remember your promise to me, your servant;
it gives me hope.
50 When I suffer, this comforts me:
Your promise gives me life.
51 Proud people always make fun of me,
but I do not reject your teachings.
52 I remember your laws from long ago,
and they comfort me, Lord.
53 I become angry with wicked people
who do not keep your teachings.
54 I sing about your demands
wherever I live.
55 Lord, I remember you at night,
and I will obey your teachings.
56 This is what I do:
I follow your orders.
10 The Lord your God will bring you into the land he promised to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he will give it to you. The land has large, growing cities you did not build, 11 houses full of good things you did not buy, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. You will eat as much as you want. 12 But be careful! Do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.
13 Respect the Lord your God. You must worship him and make your promises only in his name. 14 Do not worship other gods as the people around you do, 15 because the Lord your God is a jealous God. He is present with you, and if you worship other gods, he will become angry with you and destroy you from the earth. 16 Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to obey the commands of the Lord your God and the rules and laws he has given you. 18 Do what the Lord says is good and right so that things will go well for you. Then you may go in and take the good land the Lord promised to your ancestors. 19 He will force all your enemies out as you go in, as the Lord has said.
20 In the future when your children ask you, “What is the meaning of the laws, commands, and rules the Lord our God gave us?” 21 tell them, “We were slaves to the king of Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his great power. 22 The Lord showed us great and terrible signs and miracles, which he did to Egypt, the king, and his whole family. 23 The Lord brought us out of Egypt to lead us here and to give us the land he promised our ancestors. 24 The Lord ordered us to obey all these commands and to respect the Lord our God so that we will always do well and stay alive, as we are today. 25 The right thing for us to do is this: Obey all these rules in the presence of the Lord our God, as he has commanded.”
The Plan to Kill Jesus
45 Many of the people, who had come to visit Mary and saw what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the council. They asked, “What should we do? This man is doing many miracles. 48 If we let him continue doing these things, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away our Temple and our nation.”
49 One of the men there was Caiaphas, the high priest that year. He said, “You people know nothing! 50 You don’t realize that it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”
51 Caiaphas did not think of this himself. As high priest that year, he was really prophesying that Jesus would die for their nation 52 and for God’s scattered children to bring them all together and make them one.
53 That day they started planning to kill Jesus. 54 So Jesus no longer traveled openly among the people. He left there and went to a place near the desert, to a town called Ephraim and stayed there with his followers.
55 It was almost time for the Passover Feast. Many from the country went up to Jerusalem before the Passover to do the special things to make themselves pure. 56 The people looked for Jesus and stood in the Temple asking each other, “Is he coming to the Feast? What do you think?” 57 But the leading priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where Jesus was, he must tell them. Then they could arrest him.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.